


Take a Bow

by TheFunk



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Dance, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Anxiety, Crossover, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, Forced Bonding, Forced Teamwork, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Cheating, M/M, Mingi is kind of an asshole, Misunderstandings, Pining, Rumors, Secret Relationship, Swearing, They get better though, it's more of a speed run tbh, kpop ensemble - Freeform, mentioned panic attacks, so is yunho, this was supposed to be a slow burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-08
Updated: 2019-10-14
Packaged: 2020-10-28 00:11:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20769272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheFunk/pseuds/TheFunk
Summary: Yunho has heard rumors about Choi San, and maybe even believes them. What is he supposed to do when he is partnered with the infamous Ice Prince for a mixed-style dance performance?





	1. Illusion

**Author's Note:**

> This is probably the second-longest fic I've ever written, so I'm pretty excited about it. This fest was a joy to be in, even if I did write most of this story in one day lol

Yunho gasped in a breath, the air in the dance studio thick with sweat. They’d gone through the dance about fifteen times today, and they had almost perfected it. It would take maybe one or two more run-throughs and they’d be ready to perform it tomorrow. He could see Mingi laid out on the floor as Jongho chugged a water bottle leaning against a wall. If he wasn’t so tired he would have laughed at them. But to be fair, he probably looked just as ridiculous as they did. He rolled over onto his stomach and reluctantly pushed himself to his feet.

He cracked his neck, “Alright guys, one more time?”

The other boys groaned before nodding and getting into position. Yunho started the music and let the pumping bass fill his body. He started to dance, hard-hitting hip hop moves mixed with fierce facial expressions made their dance come to life. He loved how he felt when he danced, even he was exhausted. All his stress seemed to fly out of his body as the music filled him.

And he had a lot of stress filling him at the moment. He needed this to go well. This trio performance was worth 20% of their grades, and he really, really needed to get an A on it. He had gotten sick and hadn’t been able to perform at their monthly evaluations. That zero had dropped him to a C, and being the overachiever that he was, that was unacceptable. He needed this grade to be good to bring him back up to a B, and then hopefully the big final project at the end would bring him up the A he so rightfully deserved.

This run-through was probably their best one yet, and Yunho was more than pleased when they finished. He was panting and gasping for breath, but they had all looked sharp, their timing spot on, and nobody missed a single move. It was poetry in motion. Nothing was better than a well-executed hip hop routine.

He stopped the music quickly, not wanting it to start playing again. Mingi was on the floor again, but this time he was joined by Jongho. They were both panting and Yunho was afraid they were going to make puddles on the nice hardwood floors from how badly they were sweating.

Mingi rolled over onto his stomach, “I can’t go any longer, go on without me.”

Yunho laughed, “I think we’re done man, there’s a class in here in like, twenty minutes.”

“Oh shit,” Jongho said, standing up, “I have lunch plans and if I skip they’re gonna freak out.”

“Alright, have fun with your friends, see you later!”

Jongho just waved behind him, not even turning back to look at them. Jongho usually spent his free time with his other friends, a group of about six boys his age. Yunho had never met them but he was sure they were nice enough. Yunho wished that Jongho would hang out with them, it was pretty lonely just eating lunch with Mingi everyday. Sure, they were visited by their other friends pretty often, the other boys were busy a lot. The four other boys were in their own group for the hip hop evaluations this month, so they were practicing a lot during lunch.

Yunho checked his phone, glad to see a text from Minhyuk that he and the rest of the boys would be joining them for lunch. Lunch was always better when you could spend it with friends.

Yunho slung his bag over his shoulder, “Yah, Mingi, grab your shit let’s go. All the boys are going to be at lunch.”

Mingi sat up with a wide grin, “Oh thank god. I really needed to ask Haknyeon how to do that one spinny move I can never get right.”

“A windmill? Dude, you are way too big to be trying a windmill. Also, you have literally zero breakdancing experience.” Yunho said.

Mingi pouted but followed after Yunho, “So? I still wanna try. It just looks to fun and so... spinny.”

Yunho pushed him lightly, “Dork.”

Mingi made an offended sound, “Leave me alone you jerk. Oh look, there are the boys!”

Yunho looked to where Mingi was pointing and sure enough, there were the other boys sitting at their usual table. Haknyeon was already halfway through his food, Minhyuk was texting on his phone, Woojin was staring at Haknyeon in what seemed to be disgust, and Chan was waving frantically at them. Yunho waved back and Mingi ran over to them, dodging other people on his way. Yunho laughed as he almost flattened a smaller girl, Mingi helping the girl pick up the book she had dropped in fright.

Chan pushed at Mingi’s shoulder as he sat down, probably nagging him about being so careless with how tall he was. Both Chan and his brother were short, so both Yunho and Mingi were always getting the patented Lee Brother speech about how careless and selfish they were with their height. Chan was too funny to be intimidating whenever he gave it though, so Yunho and Mingi usually ended up laughing halfway through it. Chan’s brother on the other hand... he was a different story.

Yunho sat down between Woojin and Minhyuk, taking the last empty seat. Woojin greeted him happily but Minhyuk was still focused on his phone. Yunho leaned over and tried to discreetly peek at who Minhyuk was texting. He got a brief look at a contact called “Ddana” with hearts trailing after it before Minhyuk clutched his phone to his chest.

“Yah, you creep!” Minhyuk was clearly trying to sound offended, but Yunho could tell by his smile that he really didn’t care that Yunho had been peeking. 

“What’s Sanha up to that’s so interesting?” Yunho asked.

Minhyuk groaned, “He’s got this paper coming up for his literature class coming up and he’s asking me for help and I’m like, ‘Baby, there’s a reason that I’m at a dance school and not a regular one’, and that he should just ask his brother for help, cause he’s like, super smart and everything, but he wants me to come over and help him, but I know I can’t and I don’t know what to do.”

Yunho shrugged, “Maybe he just wants to see you. When’s the last time you hung out with him?”

“Last week.”

“Oh my god just go hang out with your boyfriend tonight he’s such a clingy baby I’m surprised he isn’t begging at this point.”

Minhyuk gasped, scandalized, “Don’t talk about my baby that way.”

“Sanha’s clingy but I think that’s cute. I wish I had a clingy boyfriend.” Haknyeon had finished shoving food in his mouth and had cut in.

Minhyuk glared, “He’s my clingy boyfriend. And maybe if you’d actually talk to Hyunjoon you’d have one.”

Haknyeon blushed and picked up a fry from Woojin’s plate and shoved it in his mouth, “Leave me alone. He’s so pretty it’s intimidating.”

Chan frowns and pats Haknyeon on the head, “You poor, sad, weak gay.”

Haknyeon pouted and stole another fry from Woojin, “You think you’re so cool with your two boyfriends and your healthy relationship.”

Chan smiled, “Yeah, I am pretty cool aren’t I?”

Haknyeon pouted again and reached for a fry but Woojin slapped his hand away. Mingi laughed at them and got up, grabbing his wallet from his bag and shoving his bag under the table.

“Yunho, you want a number two, right?” Mingi asked.

“Yeah, and make sure you get me Dr. Pepper, none of that Diet crap like last time.”

Mingi made a face at him before getting up to get their food. That was how lunch usually went for Yunho and Mingi. Mingi would go get their food and Yunho would save their table. There were never enough tables, and as soon as you got up you were likely to lose your seat.

When Mingi was on his way back to the table, he had a scowl on his face. He set their food down with a thump and Yunho was just glad that his drink didn’t spill.

He took a sip of his soda, “You good, dude?”

Mingi passed Yunho his food, “I saw the Ice Prince and his little minions in line.”

The “Ice Prince”, also known as Choi San, was the darling of the ballet department at their university. He was beautiful and skilled, but at the same time he was cold and stand-offish. No one had seen him smile and he didn’t talk to anyone outside of his small circle of ballet and modern contemporary dance minions. Those five followed him around like lost little ducklings, just as cold and arrogant as their leader.

There were a lot of rumors about the Ice Prince. A popular one was that he bought his way into the school. That he wasn’t as good of a dancer that he thought he was. Yunho wasn’t so sure about Choi San, but he knew that it was best to stay away.

Haknyeon leaned forward with a playful glint in his eye, “I heard the Ice Prince slept with the ballet instructor to get an A on his last exam?”

“I heard his partner did,” Minhyuk said.

Mingi scoffed, speaking through a mouthful of french fries, “Wouldn’t surprise me, she slept with Wooyoung.”

Jung Wooyoung was Mingi’s ex-boyfriend, and Yunho thought that they would be together forever. But then Mingi discovered Wooyoung cheating on him with San’s dance partner, Yerim, and they had broken up.

Mingi poked at his chicken sandwich, “Yeah. he started hanging out with that ballet group, and he got just as stuck up as the rest of them. And he cheated on me! Can you believe it?”

Chan cocked his head to the side, “Is that true? Like, did you catch them?”

“You’d know it if you saw the text messages that I did.”

Woojin shook his head, “Damn at this point you just gotta throw the whole group away.”

At that same moment, the Ice Prince and his minions walked past them. San had his head held high, as Seonghwa, Yeosang, and Mina laughed as they looked at Yunho’s table. Wooyoung was looking down, his arm wrapped around Yerim’s waist. So the rumors were true. Wooyoung cheated on Mingi with Yerim, San didn’t care, and the rest of them thought it was hilarious.

Woojin was right, it was time to just throw the whole group away.


	2. Beginning of the End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yunho gets his partner for his mix-style performance, and it gets worse.

It’s not often that they had class in the auditorium, but Yunho was excited. Auditorium meetings often meant a schoolwide announcement. The last time they had one, Yunho was told he was going to be one of the soloists of the spring concert. He had high hopes for this meeting as well.

He and his friends had managed to get seats all together. A few rows in front of them was the Ice Prince and his minions. Funnily enough, Jongho and his friends were sitting right next to them to sit with him, but all the empty seats near them were filled by other friend groups. Jongho and his friends would just have to suffer through it.

Soon enough, the stage was filled with the head professors of each style. The hip-hop professor, Professor Park, waved when they whooped at him. Their professor was definitely the most chill of them all, as to be expected of a master in their style. The ballet professor on the other hand, well, he just looked terrifying. Yunho was just glad that their sections were on opposite sides of the campus.

The ballroom professor cleared her throat, “Good morning everyone. It’s so good to see you all here and ready for the day.”

The contemporary professor took over when they all finished their obligatory clapping, “You may have noticed on your assignment list that there was an assignment titled, ‘Mix Style Performance’ and that it’s a heavy portion of your grade.”

Yunho had vaguely remembered that but no one really talked about it, so it had slipped his mind. He could recall being excited about it, but also a little confused. They mostly stuck to their own styles, at the point in their careers where they had chosen a specialty. They never really got the chance to expand styles anymore.

“For this assignment you will be pairing up with a person from another department, coming together to perform a dance that is a mix of your two styles.”  
The auditorium was then filled with cheers. That was exciting. Yunho started running through people in his head that he could work with. Haknyeon would probably try to work with Hyunjoon, his crush being a contemporary dancer.

He leaned over to Mingi, “Who you gonna work with? I have no clue yet.”

“Probably Jaehyun, from Jazz. He’s nice and jazz looks fun. You could work with Hongjoong, he’s cool.”

Yunho flicked Mingi in the head, “I’d rather die than put on a pair of tap shoes. I might just try to pair up with one of the girls from ballroom. Maybe Gahyeon, she’s super nice and I think she could do some hip hop moves.”

The cheers died down and the professor spoke again, “Now, don’t get too excited. You will not be picking your own partners. We have chosen your partners for you.”

The crowd was then filled with groans.

“I know, I know, get over it. Alright, here’s the list.”

The professor started naming partnerships. Jongho got paired with Yeosang, Chan got partnered with Yerim, and Haknyeon somehow managed to get partnered with Hyunjoon. He was glad to see Hongjoong get paired with Seonghwa, that was one less tap dancer he could get paired with.

“Jeong Yunho from Hip Hop and Choi San from Ballet.”

Yunho’s whole body froze. There had to be some sort of mistake. There was no way that he was paired with the Ice Prince. He was about to say something but the professor was already busy pairing Mingi with Jaehyun from jazz. Lucky bastard.

The rest of the list went by in a rush. He hardly heard it, a buzzing noise filling his ears. He couldn’t believe it. There was no way he was stuck with Choi San. He didn’t want to spend any time with the meanest, rudest boy on campus. There was no way this would go well. And ballet? Yunho would much rather be stuck doing tap than doing ballet with fucking Choi San.

Mingi pulled on his jacket, “Dude, get up. I’ve gotta go find Jaehyun and get his number.”

Yunho groaned, “Yeah. I should probably go find Choi San and get his. This sucks man.”

“Yeah, stuck with the devil himself. I pity you, man. Don’t let him change you.”

Yunho nodded at his friend and headed to the front row where San had been sitting. Sure enough, San hadn’t moved an inch. Of course, the Ice Prince on his throne awaiting his newest servant. Typical.

San was looking down when Yunho approached him, “Hey, I need your number.”

San looked up at him with wide eyes, cheeks colored red. Great, he’d made the Prince upset. San handed his phone to Yunho, the add contact screen already open.

Yunho typed his number in and named himself ‘Jeong Yunho Hip Hop’, and handed the phone back. San took it with a nod before grabbing his backpack and hustling out of the auditorium. Great, now Yunho was at the beck and call of the Ice Prince himself. He was completely at San’s mercy. He could completely sabotage him in this project by never calling him, and then Yunho would be completely unprepared and look stupid next to Perfect Prince Choi San.

He was grumbling to himself when someone clapped him on the shoulder. He jumped, turning around to see Mingi grinning at him.

“I can’t believe I actually got Jaehyun! This is gonna be so fun, I’ve always wanted to try jazz. Do you think he’ll let me put jazz hands in the choreography?”

Yunho chuckled, “Maybe if you ask him nicely.”

Mingi grinned, “Yes! Oh, dude. How did it go with the Ice Prince? What’d he say?”

They began to walk out of the auditorium, “Literally nothing. Like, I put my number in his phone and then he ran away.”

“Seriously? He ran away?”

Yunho shrugged, “Yeah, it was super weird. But I think my peasantly presence upset him, cause he was super red when he saw me.”

Hands wrapped themselves around Yunho's arm. Yunho looked down to see Chan grinning up at him, practically snuggled into Yunho’s arm.

Yunho tried to push him away but Chan clung tight, “Dude, won’t your boyfriends get jealous?”

“Oh please. They know I love them and that I would never do anything to jeopardize our relationship, especially with someone I consider only a friend, like you. It’s called open communication, look it up.” Chan said.  
Yunho almost groaned. It was hard to tease Chan about anything involving Seungkwan and Hansol, because he’d just go on a tangent about how love is all about communication and mutual respect and blah blah blah. We get it, Chan, your relationship is great. Speaking of...

“Yo Chan, aren’t you paired up with Kim Yerim?” Yunho asked.

“Oh, big yikes man.” Mingi said.

Chan frowned and slapped Mingi on the arm, ignoring his indignant yell, “I’m actually really excited. There’s a lot I want to do that I think would work well with ballet. And plus, Yerim can’t really be all that bad.”

Mingi scoffed, “Yeah right. She’s almost as bad as that Choi San. Did you see Yunho got paired with him? He’s living a nightmare right now.”

Chan pulled away from Yunho and crossed his arms against his chest, “He’s probably not even that bad either! None of us have even met him and we’re basing his entire personality on rumors from people we hardly even talk to. It’s not fair. Did you know that people thought my brother was cold and terrifying? Rumors. They’re the real evil.”

“Chan, your brother is cold and terrifying.” Yunho said.

Chan glared at him, “No he’s not. You’ve only met him once and he was exhausted that day. My brother would die for me, and would do anything for his friends. He only looks cold because he’s afraid of meeting new people. I see a lot of my brother in San, so maybe you should be a little nicer to him, he’s probably super nice and you’re just too blinded by his face to see it. Now, I’m gonna go see Soonyoung hyung. He did a ballet performance with Sicheng hyung last year, and he’d probably be willing to help me and my super nice dance partner Yerim come up with some moves.”

Chan stomped away from them and Yunho could feel his heart sink. His comment about Chan’s brother wasn’t supposed to send Chan off on a tirade, but Yunho could see why it had. He only just now remembered that Jihoon, Chan’s older brother, had given Chan a kidney when Chan was young and sickly. That the people at their school who had talked bad about him had never met him, would never know that. Jihoon just had sharp eyes and never spoke to anyone outside of his group of friends. Just like supposed Ice Prince Choi San.

Yunho kicked at the ground, maybe he should wait to meet San before he believes all the rumors floating around. Because if Chan saw Jihoon, the person he loved and respected more than anyone in the world, in Choi San, he couldn’t be that terrible. At least, Yunho hoped.


	3. Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yunho makes a mess, and Jongho forces him to see the light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Longest chapter yet! (I think lol) Hope you enjoy it!

A week after the meeting in the auditorium and Yunho is standing outside of a dance practice room with his hands clenched tightly around the strap of his bag. He, Jongho, and Mingi had done their performance three days ago, and while their grade wasn’t out yet, but he was sure they had done well. He was confident.

This though, this was something he wasn’t so confident about. Two days ago, Choi San had texted him (Yunho immediately saved his name as “Ice Prince”), asking him when they should meet up to work on their project. It was a short message, but it filled Yunho with dread. He tried not to let it, tried to remember Chan’s words, but he still felt his dislike for San deep in his bones. There was no way this project was going to end well.

But they had decided to get together to work on it, which was why Yunho was just standing outside the door. He couldn’t bring himself to go inside. He peered through the window of the door to see if San was already there. He was. Yunho pulled his head from the window, hoping San hadn’t seen him. The other boy was sitting on the floor, doing what Yunho thought was stretching.

His phone buzzed, and he looked down to see a text from Haknyeon.

_ Im meeting with hyunjoon omg im so nervos. Good luck with the ice prince bro! _

Oh, right. He’d already told his friends that he was meeting with San today. If he chickened out and didn’t go they’d never let him live it down. He sighed and squared his shoulders. Chan’s words ran through his head, so he put a smile on his face as he opened the door.

San’s head snapped to him as soon as the door creaked open. Their eyes met and San’s cheeks turned a light pink. Yunho didn’t understand why they did that. Was he angry? Embarrassed? All he did was walk in and smile at him. That didn’t even warrant any kind of reaction.

“Hi,” Yunho said, taking a seat in front of San, “How do you want to do this?”

San sat up, hiding his hands in the sleeves of his sweater, “I thought we could start by listening to some music and picking a song? That would probably help us decide how we want to mix our styles. Does that sound okay?”

San’s voice was softer than Yunho had been anticipating, and Yunho realized it was the first time he had ever heard San speak. He had been expecting something sharper, stronger. San sounded... nervous almost. Yunho just nodded instead of dwelling on it further. San played music on his phone and the two sat listening quietly, vetoing songs and making a shortlist of songs they liked to choose from.

They had sat there for nearly two hours and Yunho couldn’t believe how well it was going. So far, San wasn’t arrogant or haughty, instead he just seemed... shy. He would make suggestions with a soft voice, nodding along when Yunho would make his own. Maybe Chan was right. Maybe San was misunderstood. Maybe none of the rumors about him were true.

Yunho looked at the list they had come up with, and all the songs were very different. They were stuck on what song to pick. It would probably help if they had some sort of concept in mind, or what style they were going to pick.

“Do you have an idea of what style we should dance in?” Yunho asked.

San hummed, “I was thinking we should probably do a fusion between our two styles, or even a new style, like contemporary, rather than doing specific moves from each of our styles. I know that ballet is very technical so–”

And there it was. The arrogance, the absolute haughtiness of the Ice Prince. He thought he was so much better than everyone because he did ballet. Well, fuck that!

“Oh please! You think you’re so good but you’re not, San. what do boys even do in ballet, huh? All you do is just stand there while the girls do all the work. You couldn’t do hip hop if you tried! This is why nobody likes you!”

Yunho stormed out, not even looking back as the door slammed behind him. He was fuming. How dare he look down on him like that! San wasn’t special. All he did was lift girls up and spin them around. Yunho could do that too, and he’d never done a single day of ballet training. San was overrated.

His phone buzzed, showing he had a new text from Mingi.

_ Bro, i just finished with Jaehyun today. The rest of the boys are free for lunch wbu?? _

Perfect. Yunho needed to vent, and there was no better way to do that than at lunch with his boys. He sent a text back to Mingi.

_ Hell yeah i need to vent dude _

Yunho walked to the tables as fast as he could, but he was on the other side of the campus. By the time he got there, Mingi had his food waiting for him, an additional milkshake in his spot. Yunho grinned, wrapping Mingi in a hug as the younger boy squirmed. It was a tradition that when one of them was having a bad day, the other would buy them a milkshake to make them feel better.

“My hero,” Yunho said.

Minhyuk leaned forward, “What happened? Lay it on us.”

“Ugh, okay, so...” Yunho tells the story to his friends. He might be exaggerating a bit but come on, he’s still upset. Sue him.

His friends are nodding along, occasionally throwing in their own jabs, though Chan’s face is scrunched up in what looks like discomfort. Yunho ignores it though, reaching the part of the story where he stormed out.

Woojin shook his head, “It’s like I said, just throw the whole group away.”

Mingi nodded, “I feel so bad for you dude. And Chan too, he’s stuck with  _ Yerim _ .”

He says her name with a curl of disgust that feels weird in Yunho’s ears. He doesn’t know why. Chan frowns.

“I think Yeri’s really nice. She was telling me all about ballet terminology today, it was really interesting.”

Mingi scoffed, “You dumbass. She’s just trying to get you to cheat on your boyfriends.”

“Who’s trying to get who to cheat?”

Yunho whirled around. Jongho was standing behind him with a soda and a confused look on his face.

“What’s up, dude! I thought you and Yeosang were working together today?” Haknyeon asked.

“Yeosang had to take care of something important and he told me to come eat, and all my friends were busy. Now, who is trying to get who to cheat on who?” Jongho asked.

“Kim Yerim is trying to get Chan to cheat on his boyfriends,” Mingi said.

Jongho snorted, sitting in the empty seat between Haknyeon and Minhyuk, “Why would you think that?”

“Because that’s what she does!” Mingi almost shouted it but managed to keep his voice down.

“That’s the thing with that whole group, they all suck,” Minhyuk said, nodding as if he had just imparted some ancient knowledge to Jongho.

Jongho sighed, sipping his drink, “All right, you guys are gonna have to tell me who and what we’re talking about here because I am very lost.”

And so Mingi launched into action, breaking down the crimes of San and every member of his group. About San and his Ice Prince ways, Yerim and Wooyound’s infidelity, Seonghwa’s haughty and distant attitude, Mina’s, well, there wasn’t much to say about Mina, but if she hung out with them she must be bad.

Mingi continued, “And Yeosang, ugh, don’t even get me started on Yeosang.”

Yunho hadn’t noticed it before, but the more Mingi spoke the more serious Jongho’s already stern face had become. Nearing the end he was practically glaring at them all.

His voice was deep and gravelly as he cut Mingi off, “Hey, fuckface. If you’re gonna talk shit, get my boyfriend’s name out of your goddamn mouth.”

The table went silent. Jongho was staring Mingi down and Yunho didn’t know what to say. Was Yeosang Jongho’s boyfriend? Since when?

“Boyfriend?” Mingi asked.

“Yeah, boyfriend. I’ve been dating Yeosang for two years now and I really don’t appreciate you shit-talking our friends over shit that never happened. Like, first of all, Wooyoung never cheated on you, you absolute moron.”

Mingi sputtered, “B-but, but I saw the texts! Yerim texted him, thanking him for a good time the night before! Shit like that!”

Jongho rubbed his eyes, “The reason she texted him that was because he had spent the day before helping Yeri plan her anniversary date. With Mina. Her girlfriend. They’re lesbians, you absolute dumbass. Did you know Wooyoung cried for three days straight after you broke up with him? That we had to convince him that he was still worthy of being loved?”

Mingi went pale and Yunho could feel his stomach drop. Had everything they thought really been a lie. Had they been so blind?

“Is that... is that true?” Mingi whispered.

“Yeah. Who do you think had to carry him to the table when he refused to eat anything? Me! All he did was help his friends with a nice dinner date and you crushed his soul.”

Chan slammed his hands on the table and pointed at Mingi, “See! Communication! If you had just asked him about it none of that would have happened.”

Mingi ignored Chan, “Do you think, do you think he would take me back?”

Jongho scoffed, “Oh please. As we’ve all just learned, Wooyoung isn’t too keen on cheating. You know Yeonjun, from hip hop? Yeah, we like him so much more for Wooyoung. He doesn’t accuse him of cheating.”

Mingi turned even paler and buried his face in his arms.

“And let’s talk about Seonghwa!” Jongho started again, “Seonghwa is an absolute sweetheart. Did you know that I got sick last year, Seonghwa stayed at my apartment the entire time, making sure that I had food and was taking my medicine? And that he’s done that for all of us? Because he loves us and doesn’t want us to be in pain?”

Yunho’s head was starting to pound. Everything he thought he knew was falling apart. Yerim wasn’t a homewrecker, just a lesbian thanking a friend for helping. Wooyoung was just a boy who wanted to help a friend and do something nice. Seonghwa was a motherly figure to his friends, a kind and healing presence. Yeosang was Jongho’s boyfriend and San...

“And you!” Jongho pointed at Yunho with a glare so intense Yunho almost couldn’t breathe, “Are you the reason my boyfriend had to cut our lunch date short to calm San down from a panic attack?”

Now Yunho really couldn’t breathe. If what Jongho was saying was true, he was the last person to see San. he was the one who had said such harsh and ugly things to a boy he didn’t know. Yunho only shrugged, knowing that Jongho was most likely about to put him in his place.

“San is not arrogant or haughty or sleeping with his teacher or whatever other bullshit you guys all think about him. He has really bad anxiety so we’re the only ones he feels comfortable talking too. He’s afraid that we all secretly hate him. He’s intensely shy and insecure. But he’s so sweet, god he’s so sweet. You know, he has these little plants in his apartment, one for each of us. And he named them after us. He said it’s so that he knows that even if he’s alone, he’s still got his friends with him. That he can help us grow and thrive in any way he can. And no, he didn’t pay his way in, he’s literally here on fucking scholarships and a tutoring job. You all just saw a quiet attractive guy and made him into the devil. All he wanted to dance with his friends, and now he’s crying in my boyfriend’s arms on the bathroom floor. Fuck you guys.” Jongho got up with a huff, heading out of the room without even a look back.

It was more than they deserved, really. All of them had been so malicious, but Yunho was probably the worst of them all. Sure the others had had their comments at lunch, but Yunho was the only one to say anything to any of their faces. And over what? What Yunho had  _ thought _ was an insult? He hadn’t even let San finish speaking. He had no idea what he had actually wanted to say. He had broken a boy who was apparently already breaking. And he needed to fix it.


	4. Precious

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yunho apologizes to San.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was fun to write, I hope you enjoy it!

Yunho walked through the hallways, peering into the window of every door he passed. He was in the ballet and contemporary building but he still couldn’t find San in any of the rooms. His heart ached as he remembered all of the things Jongho had told them. How wrong they had been about San and all of his friends. How cruel they all had been.

He sighed, running his hands through his hair. Yunho liked to think that he was an honest person, that he was open to all sorts of people. But clearly he wasn’t. The friendliness that he prided himself in having wasn’t real. How could he be so blinded by rumors and San’s stupidly pretty face that he have been so horrible?

He peeked in another window and let out a breath when he noticed the room was filled with people. The longer he looked it appeared that it was mostly ballet boys. They were leaping around, higher than Yunho had seen anyone ever jump. It was... fascinating. They almost didn’t seem real. And then Yunho spotted San, in the middle of the room doing turns. He was wearing these small athletic shorts and his legs were crazy muscular as he spun and spun. Yunho was entranced.

But then he spotted Jongho sitting against the wall, Yeosang seated between his legs, and he knew he needed to remember why he was there. He needed to apologize to San for everything he had said. Not just because they were partners for a project, but because he had clearly hurt the boy’s feelings. He needed San to know that he was wrong, about everything.

He opened the door slowly and most of the people kept dancing. They were flying through the air and once they landed they were just... laughing. This wasn’t even them at 100 percent! They were playing around and they were doing things Yunho would never be capable of doing. San ended his turns and he was facing Yunho directly. San’s eyes were red-rimmed and wide like a deer when he made eye contact with Yunho. Yunho could feel his chest tighten at the sight. He had done that. He was the reason San had cried, the reason he wasn’t smiling like the rest of his friends. Yunho had done this to him.

He made his way to San and hated the way San seemed to get smaller the closer he got to him. It was like he was shrinking in on himself. As if he was trying not to be seen. Trying not to be... yelled at. God, Yunho was the worst person to ever exist. He stood in front of San, who kept his eyes trained on the ground.

“Hey San, could I talk to you outside?”

San looked up at Yunho and nodded just the slightest bit. Yunho mentally sighed he had a chance! He led San out of the room and tried to ignore the stares he was receiving from Jongho and Yeosang. They knew what he had done wrong. Hopefully, they could tell he was trying to fix it.

Once they were out in the hallway, Yunho’s words caught in his throat. San was looking up at him, eyes still wide as he waited for Yunho to speak. It seemed like it was taking too long for San because he was the one who spoke first.

“I’m sorry for what I—”

Yunho couldn’t believe his ears. San was apologizing. Nothing San had done had warranted an apology. Yunho was the only one who should be apologizing. He grabbed San’s hand, wincing as San flinched.

“No no no, you have nothing to apologize for! If anyone should be sorry for anything, it’s me. I am so sorry for the things I said to you. I was out of line, and I’m so sorry.”

San looked up at him with wide, confused eyes, head tilted to the side.

“I was so stupid. I believed rumors about you and it twisted my mind against you, and I am so sorry. I hope that you can forgive me.”

San squeezed his hand, “It’s okay, I know that... I know what people say about me. That I’m mean or whatever. But I’m not, I promise.”

“I know, I know I’m so sorry. If they met you they would know. I only spent two hours with you and you were so nice until I ruined it.”

“It’s okay.”

They looked at each other in silence. Yunho couldn’t believe that San was being so forgiving, so kind. Yunho had made San cry, torn him down. No human being on Earth could be that forgiving. San wasn’t an Ice Prince, he was more of an Angel Prince.

“Do you want to work on our dance more?”

San nodded, his face flushed a light pink. Yunho looked over to see Seonghwa staring at him from the window of the dance room. His face was serious and his eyes held the intensity of the most protective parent. With what Jongho told him, it all made sense. He didn’t just need to make it up to San, he needed to prove that he was sorry to San’s friends. He had insulted them too. He had hurt their friend. He needed to make that better. Yunho led him by the hand down the hallway.

“You know, I saw you dancing in their earlier and you guys were doing some crazy stuff, it was really impressive,” Yunho said.

“Thanks, but that was nothing, we were just playing around, you know?”

“If that was just playing around, I have my work cut out for me in this dance.”

“We’ll figure it out. I’m scared of all the stuff you guys do in hip hop, it’s so loose but hard at the same time, and I’m so used to structure and technique, I don’t think I’d be very good at it.” San hung his head as he spoke.

Yunho almost groaned, of course, San had only been afraid of hip hop, not saying that Yunho would be bad at ballet. Which, Yunho probably would be bad at, honestly. Yunho really needed to learn to let other people speak.

“Well, we can learn from each other, can’t we?”

San nodded as they entered the dance room, and they both started stretching. While they stretched, San turned on the playlist of their last few songs they were picking from. Yunho swayed along to the beat and rhythms of a classical song. It had moments of soft, tinkling flutes but also heavy percussion that thrummed through his body. It was a song of opposites, and Yunho found himself liking it more and more.

“What do you think of this one San? It could give each of our styles a moment to shine, but also give us a chance to try something new.”

San looked up from his stretch and tilted his head to the side, listening. He closed his eyes and bopped his head along with the music. Yunho could only watch as San got lost in the music.

“I like it, I like it a lot.”

Yunho grinned as San stood and started moving his body to the rhythm. Limbs flowing naturally to the softer parts of the music, already choreographing his moves. Yunho stood and followed his lead, letting the music guide his body. He could fix his mess yet.


	5. Promise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yunho gets to know San better.

Walking back into the dance practice room for their second meeting, Yunho is nervous, but a lot less terrified. Rather than nerves due to San possibly being evil, it was fear that San may not forgive him, and fear that he may ruin the little friendliness they had built during their last meeting.

Like the last time, San was in the room stretching when Yunho entered. San waved at him, before going back to stretching. He was once again wearing the small, elastic shorts that seemed to be a favorite of many of the ballet dancers, and he had a hard time pulling his eyes away.

“Hey San, have you thought any more about the dance?”

San nodded, “Yeah. I was thinking about the concept for what we should be doing. And I thought that, since our dance styles are practically opposites, so I thought we could play that up a bit, and each of us could represent something and it’s opposite. You know, like life and death, hate and love, fire and ice, or something like that?”

Yunho flinched when the word ‘ice’ came out of San’s mouth, but he tried to fight it. It just reminded him that San’s name in his phone is ‘Ice Prince’. Despite that, Yunho loved the idea. He smiled at San.

“That sounds like a great idea. Let’s definitely work with something like that!”

San nodded and they began to work. They didn’t pick a specific concept yet, but their moves were starting to fit the dichotomy of fire and ice. Yunho loved watching San dance. HIs movements were so controlled and beautiful, and despite its connotations, he truly did look like an Ice Prince. He looked regal, and Yunho could imagine a crown sitting on his head.

He felt his moves were already starting to fit fire as well, his body hitting moves with an explosiveness that could only come from fire. It was so fun to see the difference in their dances, but how nicely they fit together. It was like magic, working with San. his suggestions fit perfectly with what Yunho wanted to do, and the dance was starting to look really cool.

Before he knew it, his phone was buzzing wildly on the floor. He stopped dancing and picked it up. It was a text from Mingi.

_ You coming to lunch bro? _

Yunho sat down and thought about it. Sure, he loved having lunch with his friends, but he had something else he needed to do. He watched San dance, a serene look on his face. He needed to make sure everything was truly okay with San first.

“Hey San, do you want to go get lunch with me? We can go to the cafe on campus if you want.”

San stopped dancing, thinking for a minute, “Yeah, I’d like that. Do you want to go now?”

Yunho nodded as he texted Mingi back, telling him that he wouldn’t join him for lunch, “Yeah, sounds good. We can come back after and work more.”

San turned off the music and they packed up their bags. San led the way out of the room and Yunho turned off the lights as they left. They talked as they walked, and Yunho couldn't help but laugh at some of San’s jokes. San was still blank-faced when he was with Yunho, and Yunho hoped that at one point San would trust him enough to show his true self. He hoped that this lunch would do that.

It was nearly an hour after lunchtime when they got to the cafe, so it was pretty empty when they got there. Yunho preferred that though because the fewer people there were, the less nervous San would be. And he wanted San to comfortable with him. They were seated quickly, and soon their waiter was with them.

“Oh, hey Sannie. What can I get you guys?” The waiter asked.

Yunho wasn’t sure who the waiter was, but he was glad that San did. Knowing someone in the diner would be another reason for San to be comfortable. They ordered burgers and milkshakes, and the waiter left him and San alone.

“Who’s that? He seems nice.”

“That’s Yeonjun, he’s Wooyoungie’s boyfriend. He’s really nice. He bought me my newest pair of ballet shoes. He’s so sweet. He treats Wooyoungie so good.”

So that was Yeonjun. The one Wooyoung was dating now. Yunho wanted to hate him, for solidarity with Mingi, but Yeonjun did seem nice. And it wasn’t like Yeonjun had stolen Wooyoung from Mingi, Mingi had screwed up and Wooyoung was there to pick Wooyoung up when he was down. And Yunho was done judging people he didn’t really know.

“He seems nice! Now, tell me something about you. I want to know more.”

San played with his fingers, “Well, I don’t think there’s much to know about me. I’m Choi San, I’m 20, and I’m a ballet major.”

“Aw, come on San, tell me more. What do you like to do?”

“Well,” San rubbed the back of his neck, “I teach dance classes for kids at the community center on the weekends, and I really like that.”

Yunho perked up, “That’s pretty cool! What’s that like?”

“It’s awesome! I teach eight-year-olds how to dance and it’s so funny. Hyeongjun, on Sunday, tried to do a double turn, but accidentally did like, four, and got so dizzy he was tripping all over the place. And Dongpyo tried to keep him up and then they both fell down.”

Yunho could see the light in his eyes and hear the mirth in his voice as he spoke about his students and Yunho was enraptured. He was momentarily distracted by Yeonjun setting their food down, but he was quickly back in San’s attention. San hummed as he drank his milkshake, before talking more about his kids.

“Minhee just had a growth spurt, and I’m pretty sure he’s gonna be taller than me when he grows up, I’m pretty nervous.”

Yunho chuckled, picturing San looking fearfully up at an eight year old. San blushed at Yunho’s laugh and Yunho couldn’t help but think that he looked incredibly cute. He mentally shook his head. This wasn’t a date, this was him gaining the trust of someone he had hurt. It didn’t matter that San was the cutest boy on the planet. Or at least, it shouldn’t.

“By the way, Yunho. Is there anything you wanted to add to the dance?”

Yunho thought about it for a second. There was something that he had been thinking about since he saw San dancing with his friends.

“Do you think we could try a lift?” Yunho asked.

San’s eyes lit up, “Really? I’ve always wanted to be lifted. Do you really want to?”

“Yeah for sure.”

San covered his mouth and Yunho thought he may have been smiling by how his eyes squinted. He wanted to see that smile so bad.

San sipped at his milkshake and said, “This is gonna be so much fun.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the chapter being so late, today was my grandma's 75th birthday party, and then I had to write a paper for a class and I couldn't upload this sooner. Sorry! I hope you enjoyed it!


	6. Desire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yunho and San perfect their dance and get closer than ever before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're close to the end! I hope you enjoy it!

San is wearing sweatpants when Yunho gets to the dance practice room in the morning, and Yunho is both sad and happy at the same time. He loved the shorts but they were dangerous to his health, especially if they were going to be working on the lift today. That’s what San had said the plan was anyways. They had been meeting up every day for two weeks and their performance was only a week away. The only thing they had left to figure out, was the lift.

San stood up and grabbed him by the hand, “Come in, come in, start stretching. I want to work on this as soon as we can, it’s gonna take a while to get it right. The first time Yeri and I tried a lift, it took us two weeks to get it perfect, and we don’t have nearly that much time.”

Yunho winced at the thought of spending two weeks on one skill but figured that lifting someone above your head deserved that much attention. He stretched as fast as he could but made sure that he was actually stretched. He didn’t want to hurt himself or San just because he was anxious to begin. When he was ready, he stood in front of San.

“Alright, how do we do this.”

“First, you should know how much I weigh. Lift me.”

San said it with so much confidence but Yunho was frozen. They weren’t going to be going immediately into the lift, right?”

“L-lift you?”

“Yeah, pick me up, however you need to, just so you can get a feel of how much I weigh.”

Yunho let out a breath but it caught again as he realized what he was about to do. His heart raced. He was about to pick up San. Sure, they had touched during their dance, and held hands before, but there was something much more intimate about holding someone. Yunho wasn’t sure if he was ready for it.

“Ready?” San asked.

Yunho gulped, “Yep.”

Yunho reached forward and held San by the waist, hoisting him up so that San’s legs were wrapped around his waist, and Yunho’s hands were under his thighs. They stared into each other's eyes as their noses nearly touched.

“Oh.” San whispered, cheeks flushing pink.

Yunho could feel his face flushing too. San was incredibly light, and it felt natural to hold him in his arms. Yunho felt like he could hold him like that all day, and San would never get heavy. He set San down though, the way a mother lays her baby down to sleep, his feet touching the floor with the lightest of taps.

“I uh,” Yunho said, “I’ll definitely be able to hold you above my head. You’re really light.”

San rubbed the back of his neck, “Thanks Yunho. Are you uh, ready to start trying the lift?”

Yunho cracked his knuckles, “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Good, now try not to drop me, that would really suck.”

Yunho paled. He had forgotten that he could potentially drop San at some point during the day. That would be the worst thing ever. Dropping San would probably kill Yunho, if not the boy himself. His body began to shake.

“Why did you... why did you say that? Oh my god San, what if I drop you?” Yunho’s voice squeaked in a way that it hadn’t in so long.

San stepped forward, his eyebrows creased together, and reached up to cup Yunho’s face in his hands, “Hey, it’s gonna be fine. You’re not gonna drop me. I trust you. You’re gonna lift me up there, it’s gonna look beautiful, and then you’ll set me down, safe and sound. Right? Cause I know that’s what’s gonna happen.”

San was looking into Yunho’s eyes with such sincerity that he couldn’t help but believe him. It was going to be fine. Because San knew what he was doing, and San trusted him. Yunho grinned at the thought. San trusted him! Power returned to his limbs and he took San’s hand in his own.

“Let’s do this.”

They practiced the lift for hours. He hadn’t dropped San yet, but it was a near thing. On one of his failed attempts, where San had wobbled in his grasp and had to be set on the ground as quick as possible, San had looked up at him with a smirk.

“Man, and to think that all us untalented ballet boys do is hold girls in the air and help them spin. I thought you’d be better at this.”

Yunho gasped, “Are you mocking me?”

San just smirked at him again and Yunho rushed at him. He grabbed San by the hands and swung him high in the air. He held him there for a few seconds, just to tease him.

“Take it back!” Yunho called.

“Yunho holy shit!”

Yunho put San back on the ground as fast as he could, checking over him for any injuries, “What, what happened?”

“Yunho you did it! That’s the lift!”

San was smiling. Yunho gasped. San was  _ smiling _ . In all the weeks they had spent together, Yunho had never seen a true smile from San. But now that he had... it was breathtaking. San was smiling because he’d done the lift they’d been trying to do for two hours. He’d done the lift!

He grinned back at San, holding him by the waist and spinning him around. San laughed as they spun and by god, if that wasn’t the most angelic sound Yunho had ever heard, Yunho didn’t know what was. He set San down and they stood gasping in each other’s arms.

“Holy shit, we did it.”

San nodded up at him, still smiling, “Let’s do it again.”

So they did. For the next two hours they perfected the rest of their routine, a mix-style dance based on fire and ice. Apparently, San knew that everyone called him the Ice Prince, and Seonghwa had convinced him to embrace the moniker, to own it. He was going to be what everyone thought he was, at least for one performance.

By the end of their practice, they were perfect. They had the dance and the lift down. Yunho just knew they were going to get an A on it. It was late in the evening and he and San were taking a break, laying on the floor. San was resting his head on Yunho’s outstretched arm.

San jumped up from where he was lying, “Oh my god, I have to go!”

“You okay?”

He’d never heard San so flustered before, and the look in his eyes was wild.

“Yeah, it’s just, Seonghwa has a date with Hongjoong tonight and I totally forgot and I have to help him get ready.”

Yunho tried to ignore the fact that Seonghwa was going on a date with a tap dancer of all people, and focused on the panic in San’s voice, “Do you need a ride to his house?”

San looked up from where he was packing his bag, “You would take me? Mina dropped me off today so I don’t have a ride. You’d be a lifesaver, really.”

Yunho got up and grabbed his things, “Of course, come on. I’ll give you a ride.”

The ride with San to Seonghwa’s apartment was filled with talking and laughter. San was telling him a story about his kids from his class when they pulled up to the apartment complex. San frowned as the car stopped.

“I guess I’ll have to tell you the rest tomorrow. Thank you so much for taking me, I really appreciate it.” San opened the door and hesitated for a second before he surged forward and pecked Yunho on the cheek, “See you tomorrow Yun Yun.”

And with that San practically ran to the apartment door, and Yunho was frozen in his seat. His cheek tingled where San’s lips had touched his skin. His body thrummed with electricity and he didn’t know why. It was so unexpected. But he wasn’t... mad at it.

He drove home in a daze. Going through his directions on autopilot, he hardly registered when he made it home. He was glad to see that the light in his apartment was on, because it meant that Mingi was home, and he really needed to talk to someone.

Putting his key in the lock was harder than he wanted it to be, his hands shaking and the key not slipping into the lock. When he got it he swung the door open and melted onto the couch. Mingi was standing in the doorway of their kitchen, eating a bowl of cereal.

“You good dude?” Mingi asked, crunching on his cereal.

“San kissed me.”

Mingi choked on his cereal, “Dude what?! Did you kiss him back? How did that even happen?”

“I gave him a ride to Seonghwa’s apartment and he kissed me on the cheek. I froze and then he ran.”

Mingi nodded at him, “And how do you feel about it? You like him like that?”

“I don’t... I don’t know.”

“Well, you better figure it out, cause I don’t want you to miss out on him because you’re stupid. That’s how I lost my baby.”

Mingi looked at him with a frown before slinking back into the kitchen, his words ringing in Yunho’s ears.


	7. Utopia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dances are performed, and confessions are made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter, we made it everyone! I hope you enjoy!

When Yunho had heard that they were going to be performing their mix-style dances on the stage in front of the rest of the students, it hadn’t really worried him. He had done countless performances and even been a backup dancer at an EXO concert before. He could perform in front of people. But, standing backstage with San shaking next to him, it worried him. San didn’t have the same kind of stage experience that Yunho did. He had done many ballets before, The Nutcracker and Don Quixote amongst them, but this was different. This was San showcasing dance that he had choreographed in a style he wasn’t comfortable or familiar with.

It was only then that Yunho remembered San’s intense anxiety, the entire reason the whole school thought he was cold and mean. San was shaking. His face was pale and his eyes were glazed over. Yunho reached down and gripped San’s hand, He rubbed his thumb along the back of his hand.

“It’s okay Sannie, you’re going to be fine. We’ve done this so many times, there’s nothing to be afraid of.”

“What if they hate it?” San whispered.

Yunho took San into his arms, smiling as San wrapped his arm around his waist, “They won’t hate it, angel. Remember when we showed it to all your friends and they all loved it? And when we showed it to all my friends and they all loved it too? Nobody is gonna hate our dance sweetheart. They’re gonna love it. It’s creative and difficult and it’s awesome. And you’re gonna be so awesome.”

San sighed and tightened his grip on Yunho’s shirt, “Yeah?”

He pulled San away from him to look in his eyes, “Of course. It’s gonna be the best dance we do so far. You ready?”

San closed his eyes and let out a deep breath, “Yeah, I’m ready.”

“Good, because we’re up next.”

Soon enough, the last performers were done and had left the stage. Yunho shot San a smile before pulling him onto the stage. He could see San taking a deep breath before eating himself into his starting position. The music began to play and Yunho lost himself in the dance.

He was hitting every move perfectly, and he knew San was too. He didn't dare to look at the judges but he knew they had to be impressed. He pulled San close to him, his leg reached high into the air to rest on Yunho's shoulder. Yunho didn't even have to look to know that San was smirking at the audience, eyes sultry as he stared at them.

The first time they had practiced that move, Yunho had choked and almost pushed San off of him. He could see San’s eyes in the mirror and it had stirred something unknown within him. But now, knowing what those eyes could do to a person, Yunho smiled from where his face was buried in the side of San’s neck.

Coming up soon, was the lift. The lift that still made Yunho nervous when he thought about it. He continued his dance though, trying to put the worry out of his mind. San was ethereal, launching into a set of dizzying pirouettes. He spun so fast it was almost concerning, but Yunho had seen him do it for what seemed like hours, and just like in the practice room, San ended his pirouettes with a split that stole Yunho’s breath.

San took to his feet and soon he was running at Yunho. Yunho set his feet and caught San by the hips, lifting him high in the air. While San was suspended in the air, the stage lights surrounded his head like a halo. Yunho smiled up at San, and his Angel Prince smiled back at him. Yunho spun him around and the glitter of his costume twinkled in the lights. He was breathtaking.

Yunho set San down and soon enough the dance was over. They stood with their foreheads touching, staring into one another’s eyes. Yunho chuckled and in turn, it made San giggle. San rested his head against Yunho’s shoulder.

“Holy shit, we did it,” San whispered.

Yunho nodded, “We did,” before grabbing San by the hand and leaving him offstage.

Once they were backstage, Yunho trapped San in a tight hug. San had his arms around Yunho’s waist, his hands clutching the back of Yunho’s top. The tension that had been in San’s body before the dance was gone now, his body languid in Yunho’s hold.

“Hey, Yun Yun,” San murmured, “Can I confess something to you?”

“Yeah, anything.”

San pulled away and started playing with the hem of his top, “I was really glad when the professors paired us up together.” 

Yunho grabbed San’s hands away from his top, “What do you mean? Did you know who I was?”

“Of course I knew who you were. Wooyoung always used to talk about how nice al his hip hop friends were, before everything with him and Mingi went down, at least.”

Yunho’s throat was drier than any desert on Earth, “Yeah?”

San nodded, his cheeks flushing a pale pink, “Yeah, I also uh... I’ve also had a major crush on you for like... months now.”

Yunho froze, hands still clasped with San’s. San had a crush on him? Was that why San had always been so red-faced when they talked? Because San was shy around his crush? His insides twisted and he felt butterflies in his stomach. San liked him!

“Do you... do you still like me?” Yunho asked.

San nodded again, like a bobblehead Yunho had gotten for his little cousin for Christmas, “I’m sorry but, yes. I know you might not feel the same, but I promised myself that I would at least tell you how I feel.”

Yunho grinned and reached up to hold San’s face in his hands, “Sannie, baby, don’t be sorry. Please don’t be sorry. I like you, too.”

“You like me?”

San’s voice was squeaky as he asked, but Yunho wasn’t going to comment on it. It was cute. Everything San did was so cute. 

“I do, I like you so much. I always thought you were pretty, but then I got to know you. I learned that you are the sweetest, kindest, most precious boy in the entire world. I spent five minutes with you and was entranced by everything you did. The way you speak, the way you hold my hand, the way you smile. Oh my god your smile is prettier than anything that has existed in this world. I like you more than I’ve ever liked anyone Sannie.”

Once Yunho was finished with his mini speech, San’s eyes had gained a sparkle that Yunho hadn’t seen before, and the next thing he knew, San had surged forward, pressing their lips together. San kissed him like he was oxygen and he had been drowning, like he was water after having been stranded in the desert for days, like he wanted to do nothing more than kiss Yunho.

Yunho kissed back with the same passion, the same feeling, the same energy. He reached up and played with the hair at the nape of San’s neck, tangling it between his fingers. San sighed into their kiss and Yunho smiled. San’s lips tasted like strawberry lip balm and glacier freeze Gatorade and it was intoxicating, addictive.

San pulled away and he was gasping, so Yunho continued to kiss along the smooth skin of his neck. He waited for San to catch his breath before he spoke.

“What was that baby? Where did my shy Sannie go?”

San giggled and pushed Yunho in the chest, “Leave me alone, it’s all your fault. You make me feel brave.”

Yunho grinned and kissed San on the cheek, “My brave boy can I ask you a question?”

“Anything.”

“Will you be my boyfriend?”

San giggled, “Yes, of course. I’d like that more than anything.”

“Good.”

Then Yunho leaned down to kiss San again. All the memories of him and San flashed through his head, the good, the bad, the panic attack inducing, and kissed San even harder. He could finally put all of those things behind him, and start anew with his perfect prince in his arms.

Chan would be so proud.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe it's really over, this is so crazy! I want to thank everyone for reading and commenting everyone has been so sweet! This is the first long, chaptered story that I've finished so I was blown away by the support! I want to thank the prompter of this, it was so fun to write and live in for a while. I know it was supposed to be a slow burn type fic, but let's be honest I don't know how to write those lol I hope that once authors have been revealed everyone could take a look at my other stories! I don't have a lot of Ateez (or any really) but I do have more planned. Thank you again!

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed what you read so far! I have every chapter finished and will probably be updating every day, or every other day. Thank you for reading!

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Breakfast at Tiffany's over the Tequila Sunrise](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21025622) by [peperosungie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/peperosungie/pseuds/peperosungie)


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